A recent study from IDC revealed that despite 83% of all managers believing IT is an enabler of business innovation and competitive differentiation there is a mismatch between the IT managers, executives and end user perceptions over the success of projects and implementations. In November 2011 IDC New Zealand partnered with the Getting IT Right Initiative, to conduct the inaugural survey to test the theory that there was a misalignment of IT to business strategy within New Zealand organisations. As a result IDC identified the following areas of misalignment that must be addressed to unlock the potential of New Zealand businesses through IT. Misalignment of project success factors: In 2011 less than two thirds of IT projects were delivered on time, a quarter were over-budget and only half of the respondents stated that end user requirements were met for the top three priority projects. Misalignment with end user requirements: While three quarters of projects are deemed to meet end user needs, the lower down the company hierarchy a manager is, the lower the satisfaction levels about IT services delivery in general. Misalignment of accountability for project failures: A staggering 40% of IT managers and half of LOB managers believe that no-one was held accountable for project failures. Misalignment of IT with business strategies: While almost two thirds of IT managers believe that IT business cases are aligned to business strategies, less than half of business managers expressed the same point of view. Misalignment within the C-suite: 40% of the IT managers surveyed thought that they had no or minimal input in the development of business strategies. In 2011 only half of the respondents stated that the executive team had a governing role in all priority projects and a third stated the executive team had a role in only one or none of the projects. "New Zealand organisations still need to do some work to harness the rewards IT can provide to an organisation," IDC New Zealand senior market analyst Louise Francis says. "Greater scrutiny needs to be paid to project objectives, both tangible and intangible, at all levels of management, not just executives. It is essential that IT executives are integrated into the business strategy team and simultaneously the executive teams must opt to provide a greater governance role in priority projects to maximise the potential benefits to the organisation". Scott Groombridge, founder of the Getting IT Right Initiative says, "the survey results has demonstrated that IT misalignment to business strategies is a common problem in New Zealand businesses and this is impacting our competitiveness in the global market.  We are passionate about getting IT right in New Zealand and will be running a series of "Getting IT Right” seminars this year to provide valuable information for improving I.T. and maximising business benefits.”